Death due to Dengue Encephalitis: Section A Rare Case Report

Abstract

Dengue is a global public health concern, affecting around 50 million individuals and causing mortality in 20,000 patients per year. It is an arboviral disease caused by a single-stranded Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus belonging to the Flavivirus group and is transmitted by mosquitoes, specifically Aedes aegypti or albopictus. It comprises four serotypes, DENV1 to DENV4, and infection from one serotype only provides lifelong immunity for that subtype. Due to antibody-dependent enhancement, past infection with one serotype increases the prevalence of dengue haemorrhagic fever. The disease spectrum can range from asymptomatic infection to fever, fatal dengue haemorrhagic fever, or dengue shock syndrome. Due to improved disease knowledge, its involvement in the neurological system has been explored. Neurological abnormalities in dengue infection are rare and can be misdiagnosed due to other causes. Present case is of a young 23-year-old male with a history of fever 3-4 days prior, which later manifested with seizures and drowsiness. Despite emergency treatment, encephalitis and viral myocarditis developed, eventually leading to brain death within 24 hours of admission.